Bivens On Crutches; Writers Revel In The Metaphoric Possibilities

Beth Ann Baldry reports on the standing-room only setup at LPGA Commish Bivens' state of the tour address. Considering how few golf writers are left, that must be one tiny interview room.

Baldry also featured this quote addressing the absurdity of starting the season with a million dollar first place prize event.

“Whoever ends up winning the first event is 99.9 percent guaranteed to be in the top 10 on the money list,” said Christina Kim. “They could play that one event and be like, peace for the entire year, go to Aruba or something.”

Jay Coffin gives Bivens a rave review and pounces on the crutches metaphor.

Larry Dorman shares a few Bivens quotes not in the transcript.

Steve Elling wonders how you can have a pro golf tour not playing in Florida.

Next year, South Florida will be without an event for the first time this decade. At this stage, after the contract for the Ginn Open in Orlando expires in April, the entire state will be without an event in 2010. Eleven events next year are overseas, scattered in nine different countries, many of them in Asia, which remains a strong market.

"In this economy," she said, "it's like having a balanced portfolio."

Yeah, that's what we savvy investors thought our 401(k) mutual-fund accounts assured us, right? Even the Asian markets, which produce one of the tour's top revenue streams, are wobbling. Bivens bemoaned the fact that even abroad, the trickle-down effect of the U.S. economy is already being felt with full force.

Randell Mell reports that The Donald hints at talks resuming with ADT about salvaging the event. But it still would be in the opening season slot...

Some good news for Bivens: no photographer seems to have captured her limping into the session. The brand remains strong!

Brand Lady Goes Entire Gabfest Without Saying Brand; But She Does Drop A Value Proposition

The Value Proposition Lady? How am I supposed to work with that?

Well, there was the rest of the press conference today at the ADT (RIP) Championship...

Equity is the next pillar. We're a member organization, and we will continue to expand the menu and the value of the benefits provided to our members. Moving closer to the equity they deserve and they need.

I wish this economic downturn had waited one more year. I wish we'd had one more year, but I'm grateful that we had the past three.

Oh, why's that?

Our 2009 budget plans for a solidly profitable year. A continued high level of contributions to our member benefits, including a 25% increase in the pension fund contributions.

If we had not undertaken the substantive changes to the business model of the LPGA during the previous three years, our picture would be decidedly less hopeful.

Scribblers in attendance: did she actually just pat herself on the back at this point? The transcriber did not note any form of petting, heavy or otherwise.

On the wacky notion of starting the year with a $1 million first place prize event, instead of ending the season that way:

CAROLYN BIVENS: For several reasons. But it effects the money list as much as having it at the end of the year. Somebody wins a million dollars. And frankly, I hope five to ten years from now, somebody's standing up to you and talking about $9 or $10 million events, and that this event would have a purse of $2 million.

I know that people say you shouldn't compare the LPGA to the PGA. I actually believe these girls really do rock. I believe these girls are great, and I believe this is a great value proposition, and that's where we're growing.

Sigh. I can't stand it when she makes Finchem look good.

Q. Can you just update us on what are your pursuing TV rights fees? And how this economic climate effects that plan?

CAROLYN BIVENS: You can't negotiate television in the media, but I will tell you this, it's a very important part of -- it's an important aspect of women's sports. It's incredibly important to the LPGA.

We can have the very best players in the world, the most dynamic, charismatic players and the people don't see them. You don't increase the value. It's also very difficult for an organization to operate and for -- there's a phrase that's been thrown around a lot this week, a price-value equation. It's very hard to have price-value equation when you're underwriting all of the costs of the television time as well as of the production.

Wait, price-value equation wasn't on my bingo board...that's not fair CB.

Q. If I recall correctly, think there were going to be some serious tweaks to the English proficiency policy. Is there anything can you update on that or when we can expect to hear some something?

CAROLYN BIVENS: Let me go back and reprise a few of my remarks and say performance at the LPGA, and frankly, the survival and ability to succeed here is more than performing on the golf course. The international nature of our tour offers us great opportunities and it also offers us challenges.

As we went to benchmark best practices in this area, there is no other program that exists like this in a sports or an entertainment world. What's come out of all of that is offers in some cases for some pro bone owe work from some pretty impressive groups and organizations, and we're taking them up on it.

So we're actually going to make this more extensive than we'd ever intended to in the very first place. And our goal is to come out of this a year to 18 months from now and have a model program.

See, wankers. The horrible PR disaster turned into a positive. Pro-bono (Pro bone owe) English training!

"Given what could have been the potential negative economic impact on our schedule, we view this as a barometer of stability, appeal and value for our players and our property"

That's what the LPGA Commish said in describing the new schedule, which is missing three events and has the players making some pretty long treks from week-to-week. Tim Reynolds, writing for AP:

Next year's LPGA schedule begins in Hawaii, then heads to Thailand, Singapore and Mexico, not returning to the U.S. until the Phoenix event from March 26-29, details of which have yet to be released.

Some events shifted slots from the 2008 schedule, others changed sponsors and details are still being finalized about the Samsung World Championship, which was in Cleveland this year.

One quirk to the 2009 schedule: The U.S. Women's Open starts July 9, followed by the Evian Masters, the British Open and the Solheim Cup. So it's possible that a player who isn't qualified for those events wouldn't play between the Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic (which ends July 5) and the Safeway Classic (which starts Aug. 28).

"Given what could have been the potential negative economic impact on our schedule, we view this as a barometer of stability, appeal and value for our players and our property," Bivens said.

Safe To Say: "Value Proposition" A Must On Any MBA-Speak Bingo Board

Here I was just getting comfortable with value modulations when I come to learn it all comes down to value propositions.

Randell Mell reports that ADT actually might have liked to have stayed on as the sponsor of a year-end, must see, ultra cool event on the LPGA Tour. But the LPGA's increased asking price is the real culprit.

I think the countdown clock just started ticking for the Brand Lady.

Tour pros were informed by the LPGA one month ago that ADT chose not to renew because the company was pursuing different marketing objectives.

"The explanation ADT gave us for not renewing was that its marketing objectives and means of going about attracting customers was changing and the ADT Championship didn't fit into its future plans," said Mike Nichols, LPGA vice president of tournament business affairs.

ADT President John Koch said there was more to the decision.

"Basically, the change in the renewal pricing caused us to re-evaluate the value proposition of the overall program," Koch said. "You will hear various takes on that, but it is inaccurate for anyone to state that our decision was based on any form of cost cutting by our company. In fact, we have increased our marketing budget."

The LPGA made various proposals to ADT, including making ADT the umbrella sponsor of a series of LPGA events. The proposal the LPGA favored most was moving the event to the start of the 2010 season, where it would no longer compete against football and would be more appealing to TV as part of a potential package that the LPGA could sell to networks.

While ADT officials expressed concern about altering the nature of the event with a big payoff at season's start, Koch said it wasn't an overriding factor in his company's decision not to renew.

Koch would not reveal what ADT paid for its title sponsorship in the latest two-year contract extension that ends this year, but industry insiders estimate the company paid $3 million per year. While Koch also would not divulge the LPGA's asking prices, an industry expert said the tour was asking a substantial increase, prices beyond what adding weekend network TV coverage would require.

Koch said his company enjoyed a "great relationship" with the LPGA, a "good dialogue" and carefully considered all the LPGA's proposals, but ultimately decided not to accept.

"At the end of the day, there wasn't any reason other than value proposition," Koch said. "They have the right to think what the value of their tournament is. We respect them for that."

But just think, they won't have to compete with football now! Oh wait, there's no sponsor. Or course. Or date set.

Why take an established attention-getter--albeit one in November running up against the NFL--and exchange that with a year-starting $1 million event (?!?) that might happen?

And even the master negotiator himself isn't expressing much admiration for the Commissioner's work.

Donald Trump, who has been an unofficial host of the event for its entire eight-year run as owner of Trump International, was disappointed the LPGA didn't make ADT a better offer.

"Outside the U.S. Open, this has been the most important event on the ladies' tour," Trump said. "It is sad it has to end, and perhaps the tour should have made some concessions."

Perhaps? Who said The Donald isn't a kind soul?

And this from Juli Inkster:

"ADT and their people have been nothing but very supportive of the LPGA Tour and its players," said Hall of Famer Juli Inkster, a member of the LPGA's Board of Directors once sponsored by ADT. "They've done so much for us, and I was just very disappointed to hear we were losing them.

"But I don't want to point fingers. I don't know the ins and outs of what happened or what went wrong, but something went wrong. If it didn't, we would still have ADT as a sponsor. Hopefully the tour knows what it's doing and this will work out for the best."

And if they don't?

But back to value propositions. Larry Dorman takes a look at all sectors of the golf industry and frankly, I came away less bummed out than I thought I might based on his talks with various retailers. Of course, the PGA Tour's $5 million man stayed on message...nearly verbatim to previous statements. Though this value proposition business has thrown me for a loop.

Finchem runs the organization of players that many golfers aspire to become, or at least to emulate. As such, he knows the importance of sustaining what he calls the PGA Tour’s “value proposition.” That, he said, is the formula for success that includes “the demographic of decision makers that we reach, the quality of the branding we deliver, the quality of our TV platform, the business-to-business opportunities, and our long-term relationships with our customers.”

Sirak Prepares To Cover The First Of Annika's Farewells

Reporting from the ADT Championship, where Annika's first farewell commences, Ron Sirak:

Even Sorenstam has backed off using the "R" word, changing the phrasing from "retiring from competitive golf" to a more qualified and significantly more open-ended "stepping away from competition." What is likely is that after the ADT Championship this week and the Dubai Ladies Masters next month, a Ladies European Tour event, we will not see Sorenstam in a full-field tournament for at least a year.

But is this really the end? All I know is that I covered Arnold Palmer's last British Open and last Masters twice each. Muhammad Ali retired at least three times. And six years after Richard Nixon told the media "you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore," he was elected President of the United States -- and six years after that kicked out of office. But I digress.

“It was a tough sell at $2 million a year and now you’re coming back two years later with a $4 million price tag?”

Jon Show talks to the LPGA Tour's Chris Higgs, who says the tour will have nearly the same number of 2009 events as this year...if you don't know how to count. More alarmingly, a sidebar with the piece says only five events are locked in for 2010, with this ominous note perhaps explaining why the future is bleak:

While most tournaments cited the economy as the main obstacle to finding new title sponsors, the LPGA’s rising sponsorship and sanctioning fees under Commissioner Carolyn Bivens, who took the post in September 2005, have created some obstacles in small to medium-size markets. Tulsa, which lost SemGroup as a title sponsor when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year, has not found a new sponsor, in part because of the higher price tag.

“It was a tough sell at $2 million a year and now you’re coming back two years later with a $4 million price tag?” said a source close to the tournament. “That’s not an easy proposition.” 

"Bivens' remaking of this season-ending event and the break with ADT will tell us so much about the wisdom of her overall plan."

Randell Mell on this week's final ADT Championship and the Commissioner's state of the LPGA Tour address:

ADT, the Fields Open, the Ginn Tribute and Safeway International are losing their title sponsors. Kapalua has been looking for a sponsor for more than a year. These issues affect Bivens' larger strategic TV plan for 2010. She needs good partners to realize this plan, and that means being a good partner in turn.

Really, the break with ADT offers a telling microcosm for us to judge Bivens' larger approach.

Tour pros ought to scrutinize what's happening to this event very closely to see if the changes are really for the better or if something special's being damaged.

Bivens' remaking of this season-ending event and the break with ADT will tell us so much about the wisdom of her overall plan.

If she unveils a future to this championship that sounds convincingly better than the eight-year run ADT gave us, players should be encouraged. If she doesn't, they ought to be worried, and they ought to be asking hard questions of their commissioner. This has been a terrific event with a wonderful run. Players are sure to measure future events against it.

Stay tuned, as they say, the commissioner steps up to the tee Wednesday.

"When someone says 'Lorena' I think of the way she opens up all her press conferences with a 'hello everybody.'"

Kevin Baxter profiles Lorena Ochoa for the L.A. Times and focuses on her humility. Naturally, The Brand Lady offered a profound insight:

Adds LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens: "When someone says 'Lorena' I think of the way she opens up all her press conferences with a 'hello everybody.' I would say that's pretty unusual for a world's No. 1 athlete in any sport. It's one thing to do it as part of a public persona. It's another thing to be a very authentic role model."

Saying "hello everybody" in the press room makes her an authentic role model?

“If they don’t even know survival English, they’re totally dependent on the dad.”

Karen Crouse of the New York Times went to some LPGA Tour events and got to know Korean players. She also talked to the Brand Lady (from what I can gather), and it seems the Commish said something unusual and upsetting to some players. (Shocking, I know.)

First, Crouse summarizes:

Although language has become a primary talking point on the tour, the cultural gap may be wider than any English-speaking policy can bridge. Bivens has since strained relations more by indicating that her plan was also meant to help the South Korean players shake their omnipresent fathers. By singling out the South Koreans, Bivens has reduced them to one-dimensional stock characters, which is like reading no break in a putt on a contoured green.

There's a resume quote for ya CB!

Bivens’s motivation extends beyond the fiscal health of the tour. In a recent interview, she said her goal was to help assimilate the South Korean players into a culture starkly different from their own and to emancipate them from what she characterized as overbearing fathers. Forcing the players to learn English and threatening their livelihoods was the best way she saw to accomplish that.

“The language is part of the control the parents have over their young daughters,” Bivens said. “If they don’t even know survival English, they’re totally dependent on the dad.”

Seon Hwa Lee, the L.P.G.A. rookie of the year in 2006 and a two-time winner this year, is considered one of the quieter South Koreans, but she was outspoken about Bivens’s emancipation proclamation.

“I don’t think that’s her job,” Lee said.

You mean to be the tour's in-house, strict Freudian?

Of course, considering that the NY Times ran four player capsules in the print version, including one of Mi Hyun Kim. There it's revealed her parents wouldn't let her marry a guy until she won a major. Maybe the Commish isn't so far off?

The meat of Crouse's excellent reporting:

In Korean culture, parents will do whatever is necessary to help their children’s prospects. They have a name for it, child farming, and cultivating successful sons and daughters confers great prestige on the parents. For golfers, that means fathers leave their jobs to travel the circuit and serve their daughters in many unofficial roles: coach, caddie, chauffeur, counselor, critic and cook.

At night during the Danville tournament, the halls of an Extended Stay America Hotel smelled of garlic and kimchi as parents of the South Korean players made dinner. Filial obedience and financial independence are not mutually exclusive to the South Koreans, who see nothing contradictory about taking home the bulgogi (barbecue beef) and letting their mothers or fathers fry it up in a pan.

Some of the fathers turn up the heat, pushing their daughters to practice and berating them when they do not play well. Three caddies who work for them said there were a handful of South Korean players on the Tour who have been ostracized by their compatriots because of their overzealous fathers.

Christina Kim said: “I can understand and appreciate what Carolyn is trying to do in regards to emancipating Korean players from their fathers. However, it is my firm belief that just like in any other culture, one has to go and reclaim their independence, learn who they are as humans in this world, of their own volition. If someone is not ready to leave the comforts of the nest, or they haven’t got the strength to do it, I feel that it is their own choice.” 

"Why not go to Asia and tap into the huge popularity of women's golf there?"

That's the question Ron Sirak asks and answers rather convincingly. And it's one many of us asked when the LPGA seemingly was going in a different direction with it's English-only saga:

Why not go to Asia and tap into the huge popularity of women's golf there? In Japan, for example, the women routinely gets better TV ratings than the men and throughout Asia LPGA players are treated like rock stars. Follow the money, baby, follow the money.

Besides, it is certainly true that the main thing on the minds of American sports fans this time of the year are matters pigskin:

Will Joe Paterno have his fifth Penn State team to go undefeated and not win the college national championship?

Are the Tennessee Titans really that good?

Think it's not difficult to pry eyes and minds away from football this time of the year? Just check out the TV ratings for the World Series, were you have to go back to when there were still day games to find numbers this low -- and in at least one case not even then.

Annika Hints At Return From Retirement As Retirement Beckons

Gee, you think she could have gotten bored around the house for a few hours before growing restless about returning. Stephen Wade reports from China.

“If I get the urge to come back, I have a chance,” Sorenstam said. “That’s why I have never said this is the end. But we’ll see.

“There are new challenges ahead,” she added. “Getting married and starting a family. Who knows? I might come out on tour sooner than later. It might be tougher than I think it is.”

Juli Inkster For Commissioner!

When the LPGA inevitably cans Carolyn Bivens, I'd nominate Juli Inkster for the Commish job. Or at least a board seat.

From Doug Ferguson's AP notes column comes this wisdom that might have prevented the learn-English-or-your-outta-here disaster:

“The Asian players ... it’s kind of a respect thing, a pecking order thing,” Inkster said. “They are brought up to really honor their roots and their grandparents, and the people before them, and the higher-ups. So all of a sudden, you put an 18- or 19-year-old girl that’s maybe not really comfortable with her English.

“Playing with four CEOs — men or women — she is not going to feel comfortable going up there and making small talk. That’s not the way they are brought up.”

ADT "Declines To Extend" LPGA Deal

Well, I guess this will prevent anyone from asking if ADT will be back to sponsor next year's LPGA finale...

ADT declines to extend sponsor relationship
 
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Oct. 16, 2008 -- The Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), owner and operator of the ADT Championship event in West Palm Beach, Fla., and ADT, title sponsor of the event, jointly release the following statements in response to ADT not renewing its title sponsorship.
 
LPGA statement credited to LPGA Commissioner Carolyn Bivens
The LPGA has enjoyed an excellent relationship with ADT as a title sponsor of our season-ending event since 2001, and we are tremendously grateful for ADT’s strong support and loyalty to the LPGA and our members throughout the years. While we are disappointed that ADT won’t title the event beyond 2008, we look forward to working with them to ensure the 2008 event is the most successful to date.  As it relates to the future title of this event, which features golf's most compelling format, we are having discussions with several groups for title sponsorship.
 
Statement credited to ADT Security Services
ADT Security Services has had a long and productive partnership with the LPGA as title sponsor of the ADT Championship. While ADT is committed to making this year’s ADT Championship the best ever, we have decided not to extend our sponsor relationship.  Over the years we have had the opportunity to work with LPGA in building a great event while hosting it in our local Palm Beach County community.

ADT maintains an excellent relationship with the LPGA and continues to be committed to our other partners including the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida, the Pepsi Center in Denver as well as several Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) properties, the Home Depot Center and LA Live in Southern California and the O2 Dome in London.

ADT’s strategy is to make significant investments in growth areas of our business that are more closely aligned with meeting the needs of our customers.
 

Update on 2008-10-17 03:35 by Geoff

Beth Ann Baldry reports on the ADT loss and shares this from the player's meeting when the Commish broke the news:

Sources tell Golfweek that Bivens hopes to move ADT to the beginning of the schedule in 2010. Players expressed concern about someone starting the season with $1 million thanks to one good round, a huge advantage to start the annual money-title race.

Gee I can't imagine why they would find that unusual.

"I thought I would have been itchy to get back..."

While Doug Ferguson analyzes the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour's various soft spots in light of the recent economic collapse, I think Tiger's answer in the Today Show interview to the question about getting away from the game is more disturbing.

Check out the video here.

He was asked if it has been good to get away and replied that he: "thought I would have been itchy to get back but after going through it I'm really not that itchy to get back," then cites the inability to rotate on his knee as the reason he doesn't have the itch.

"Small gestures, warm smiles speak unspoken language."

The San Francisco Chronicle's Gwen Knapp relays a nice anecdote about the LPGA's Eun-Hee Ji, and it got her thinking that the LPGA needs to relax when it comes to their concerns about English proficiency. it got me thinking that more PGA Tour players ought to follow Ji's lead.